This invention relates to a glare shield attachment for reducing the glare from headlights and other light sources encountered in driving a motor vehicle, and more particularly to a device combining a sheet of glare reducing material in hinged relationship to a clip for attaching the sheet to a vehicle sun visor as a downward extension of the sun visor.
The prevention of eye fatigue, discomfort and impairment of vision and attendant hazards caused from glare from direct light sources such as headlights of oncoming vehicles, highway lights and road signs and also from reflected light from fog, rain, haze and snow has long been a problem for the motorist. Under the prior art success has been achieved in reducing such glare by the use of a clip holding a body of transparent glare reducing material to a vehicle such visor, disposed in downward position, as a parallel downward extension of the sun visor, such as the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,697,125 and 3,858,931. However, the inflexible attachment of the body of the shield to the clip has certain disadvantages. Such devices, when left on the sun visor for convenience, are not entirely out of the way when the sun visor is pushed upward to an out-of-the-way position near the top of the vehicle and are completely in the way when the visor is swung downward for normal use under conditions where the glare shield is not needed. Moreover, when the devices are in use, and it is desired to tilt the visor forward or backward to elevate the lower edge of the visor to accommodte for the height of the driver, the body of the shield also tilts in the plane of the sun visor and cannot be adjusted to a more desirable vertical position. The present invention, by permitting the body of the shield to be rotated on a transverse axis on the clip, overcomes these difficulties. Thus, when the shield is not in use, the body of the shield can be folded back upon the sun visor and placed in an out-of-the-way position near the top of the vehicle. When folded back, the body of the shield will also be out of the way if the visor is swung downward for normal use. When it is desired to put the glare shield in use, it is easily rotated to a desired perpendicular position, irrespective of the tilt of the visor. The frictional resistance built into the hinge holds the body in the selected position.
Previous clips of glare shields of this nature, while having some latitude in fitting visors of different thicknesses, have not been of universal application, regardless of the thickness of the visor. The clip of the present invention is designed to fit all visors now in general use, regardless of their thickness.